Sage Hall is earning some impressive awards for a building yet to celebrate its first birthday.
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s first new academic building in 40 years, Sage, which opened in September, was honored on May 3 as one of construction trade magazine ‘The Daily Reporter’s’ “Top Green Projects of 2011.” That same day, the Wisconsin Masonry Alliance (WMA) recognized Sage Hall as with an “Excellence in Masonry Award.”
“Sage Hall is a monument to not only state-of-the-art teaching and learning in higher education but also to the value of partnership and thoughtful collaboration in sustainable design and construction,” said Tom Sonnleitner, UW Oshkosh vice chancellor of Finance and Administration. “These two awards are validations of the state of Wisconsin’s and private donors’ shared investment in a striking building created to help our students, faculty and staff excel while minimizing our campus’s impact on the earth.”
Sonnleitner applauded the work of Wisconsin and Midwest-based engineers, architects and contractors who helped make the new home of the UW Oshkosh College of Business administrators, faculty and program offices and five departments and five programs of the College of Letters and Science a reality. They include general contractor J.P. Cullen and Sons, Inc., architects Berners-Schober Associates, Inc. of Green Bay, and VOA Associates Inc. of Chicago and an array of regional companies which provided the skill and workforce to bring the environmentally friendly and energy efficient building to life.
It was estimated that the Sage Hall project generated more than 2,000 construction-related jobs over the duration of its design and construction.
Sage was designed for a gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and supports the University’s sustainability commitment by maximizing the use of natural light, featuring roof-mounted thermal and parking-lot photovoltaic solar panels, a green roof with low-maintenance plantings and in-floor radiant heating and cooling systems. All together, Sage’s sustainable features are expected to save the University $182,000 annually.
Red bricks, green building…
In the short video slideshows below, Ian Griffiths, associate and sustainability coordinator at Berners-Schober Associates Inc. of Green Bay — the green architecture firm involved in the Sage Hall project — explains many of the sustainable strategies, technologies and features incorporated into the $48 million Sage. (Building renderings courtesy of Berners-Schober Associates, Inc.).
“Sage Hall, UW Oshkosh: An innovative building design”
“Sage Hall, UW Oshkosh: Elegant, functional courtyard serves many purposes”
“Sage Hall, UW Oshkosh: Efficiency, sustainability went hand in hand”
“Sage Hall, UW Oshkosh: Building features next-gen, high-tech lecture halls”
“Sage Hall, UW Oshkosh: Building furthers campus commitment to solar energy”
Learn more:
- UW Oshkosh dedicates campus’ newest academic building in 40 years (Sept. 23, 2011)